We pull up to the school just as Mickey and Ian Gallagher come walking out together. Collin's voice comes from over my shoulder, "Looks like someone has a friend." Ignoring him, I lean over and honk the horn. Mickey's head darts in our direction. I see him mumble something to Ian, flip him off, then head over towards the car. He climbs into the backseat and hits Collin on the back of the head.
"WHAT THE FU-?!" Collin roars, to which Mickey laughs. "Relax, dude," he slaps a fifty on the center console. "For gas," he lights a cigarette and Collin mutters under his breathe before flooring it towards home.
The liquid boils in the spoon and I drop the head of a q-tip into the mixture. Collin pulls the caps off two syringes and waits. A manic energy enters the room, circling and suffocating us. I fucking hate this feeling only because of how much I love it. Terry's voice plays over and over in my head, the phrase "junkie" stuck on repeat...
We sink the plungers at the same time and as soon as the heroin entered my system, it's like the ultimate release- nothing ever has and never will compare to it. My eyelids are caressed by the sedative effect and my thoughts are wrapped in a wooly cotton. I am not longer in my body, but rather I'm enmeshed with the euphoria. I am the drug. Collin's head sinks onto my shoulder; I tell my hand to reach out and touch him, but the most I can do is nod off on top of him..
A pounding at the door wakes us. Beams of sunlight enter thru the bottom of the drawn shades. It was dark last I looked. Confusion overwhelms me and suddenly, Micky is in the room. "Jesus fucking Christ, you two!" There's a disgust in his voice, but beneath the layers of anger, I catch a tremble of fear. Mickey bends down and picks up the spoon. "Fucking nice. That's why I'm eating fucking cereal with a fork." Collin raises his head and tells him to get the fuck out. "No can do, big brother. Theres a chomo down the street and were all going; you too. And bring Courtney. I've seen her take down a 300 pound body builder over a dime bag. We could use that..." I chuckle at the memory and ignore the grogginess behind my eyelids. My body wont cooperate and I just want to sink back into the sleep. Mickey stops at the door, turns back around and tosses us a small baggie. "Here," he wipes his nose on his sleeve. "Take a bump. And hide the fucking needles, man; if dad sees that shit..." his fear is palpable.
Iggy, Terry, Micky, Terry's brother, the Gallagher boys, and I all head down the back street. Everybody has a weapon of some sort; my handgun is tucked into the front of my Jean shorts. I dont even bother to cover it with my shirt. Terry makes it to the door first and bangs on it aggressively. It cracks open and a blonde woman sticks her head out. "Can I help you?" she asks. "Were looking for Blake Collins," Terry growls. "I'm Blake Collins..." the mousy blonde says hesitantly. "Oh, holy shit!" says Ian. "You're the 8th grade teacher who fucked her student!" The energy of the mob shifts; I remain underwhelmed. She tells us that what they had was love, but I'm not buying it. A fury rises in the back of my scalp and the cocaine only fuels it. The men of the group start retreating, except for Collin, Lip, and I. All i can think of is Aaron.
Terry starts to retreat back down the stairs, so I pull the pistol from my waistband and aim it at Blake. Everyone around me shouts, "Woah! Woah! Take it easy!" Ignoring them, I stare her dead in the face and spit. "A pedo is a fucking pedo, bitch." Turning my gun, I point it towards the car in front of her house and shoot. BANG. BANG. BANG. Two tires pop and her back window shatters. "MY CAR!" she screams.
"You might wanna get that checked out," I sneer before I turn and walk away. Footsteps follow after me; my husband takes my hand and we continue back home. The youngest Gallagher yells, "that was so fucking cool!" To which Mickey responds with, "I told you. Nobody fucks with her..."
Collin stops at the mailbox as I open the gate to the house. "You got something," he holds up a manilla envelope. "Who's it from?" I yell, taking the front steps two at a time. "Some lawyer? Looks important." I pause at the door as he makes his way up. We go to the kitchen table, where I open it and read the contents. "Holy..... shit...."
"What babe?" Collin is nervous. I can hear it.
"My dad... he left me some money for when I turned 18..." i flip the envelope over. "Jesus fuck, it's been in the mailbox for months!"
"He left you money?" Collin fingers a knife hole in the table.
"Yeah..."
"How much?"
I look up from the paper. "Twenty five thousand."
